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Topic: Klonopin (Read 546 times)

I've been taking klonopin .5 everyday for a month. I think I'm having withdrawals trying to get off. My anxiety level increases and I wake up trembling in my sleep. I feel like this is a short amount of time for this to happen. I want off of these.! How should I do it

I've been taking klonopin .5 everyday for a month. I think I'm having withdrawals trying to get off. My anxiety level increases and I wake up trembling in my sleep. I feel like this is a short amount of time for this to happen. I want off of these.! How should I do it

If you take Klonopin(Clonazepam) everyday for a month, your body after those four weeks has already begun to adjust too having the medication in your system. So if you were to not take it, your body probably would experience withdraw symptoms. So if you stopped taking the Klonopin (Clonazepam) for the past two days, you are dealing with two things: Klonopin(Clonazepam) with-drawl and your own uncontrolled anxiety.

If you get off Knonopin(Clonazepam), you still need to manage your anxiety, since it hasn't been controlled for the past month. In another thread, you mentioned being on Cymbalta (Duloxetine) and had good results, however you weaned off it, unfortunately a few weeks or months later, the anxiety has come back, and if I may add, with a vengenance.

At this point, your using the Klonopn(Clonazepa) to manage your uncontrolled anxiety, however you are not having a doctor monitor you on this medication, because a wise doctor would have put your back on Cymbalta(Duloxetine) or another antidepressant, instead of having you choose to take Klonopin everyday,. When your Klonopin runs out, you'll need to go back to the doctor, regardless, for a refill of the prescription, and discuss your anxiety issues again. Likewise other people on this forum would recommend, you also discuss your need to get back on Cymbalta(Duloxetine) or another antidepressant.

Tapering off Klonopin (Clonazepam) at this point would be very unwise because1) You don't have any other medication in your system to handle the uncontrolled anxiety. If you are choosing to not take medication, you'll need to evaluate if the panic and other negative, emotional symptoms are worth the daily fight.

2) You really need a doctor to monitor you tapering off a medication, such as Klonopin (Clonazepam) instead of doing this on your own.

3) Once you get back on an antidepressant - which you really should, so I am writing this in the tense that you hopefully will - the Klonopin(Clonazeman) will help you stabilize on the new antidepressant for the next few weeks.

4) Also since you've been on antidepressants before, for a prolonged period of time, you are likely to experience tachyphylaxis, where the antidepressant affect doesn't act the same the second time around. The antidepressant may poop out on you (as if Cymbalta won't work or feel the same again), you'll need a higher dose to achieve the effects that you had prior, or you may experience side effects, which you probably didn't experience before, however you will have to tolerate these side effects for a few weeks in order to adapt to the medication again.

I'm also aware that you may try alternative medicine, or alternative therapies (like cranio-magnetic stimulation). I would advise you to not risk your mental health to assume the alternative therapies are going to cure you of your anxiety, where you won't need the medication. All of us on this forum have tried alternative therapy, however before we assume it will cure us, and it might not, make sure you have a back up plan that works (like being on the right dosage of medication). Don't put all your eggs in one basket over therapies that have yet to cure you.

Quacks prey on us Anxiety Disorder sufferers as part of the Mental Health community, since we can be desperate for healing. Don't be victimized, instead be EDUCATED about QUACKERY!!!!! http://www.quackwatch.com/

My doctor did prescribe me cymbLta again and since I was really jittery this time she gave me klonopin to help with the side effexts. After 4 days I stopped the cymbalta but kept taking the klonopin. She also prescribed me a new snri called viibryd that I haven't tried yet. SheTold me to take half if the .5 klonopin... There areDays I want to go back on cymbalta justSo I don't have intrusiveThoughts what IfThinking constantly ..... And I'd rather stick withThe cymbalta since ive already been on it withGood results.... It honestly did help me enjoy myLife again without all of the crazy constsnt what ifThinking. I get mixedResults take meds don't take meds. I feel like maybe if I take them to get back on. Track they may help especially if I incorporate other tools. Are these safe to be on long term?

Yes, antidepressant medications have been used since the 1960s, which started, with the dispensing of the older class of antidepressants called the MAOIs. Compared to the SSRIs and SNRIs, which were released in the late eighties, MAOIs have more initial side effects, diet restrictions and it's rarer for a doctor to prescribe them over a SSRI/SNRI. However there are users who are still on them today.

I know Ian (Insights) has been on antidepressants for over twenty years, possibly closer to thirty. You may want to ask him about his experiences with taking medications long term. I am sure he will persuade you to be on them long term, rather than to keep on jumping off them.

From my point of view, I think it's preferable and safer to take antidepressants long term, rather than starting and stopping them when you get better, and then restarting when you get worse again. The repetitive use of restart and restop antidepressant usage has shown the medication has less and less effect after each additional attempt, that if you keep on repeating this type of restart/restop pattern, you may eventually not get any improvement on medications at all.

However it is best to discuss this issue with your doctor.

Vibryd is a good medication, btw, if it works out, you should really consider staying it on long term. There is no harm in exploring alternative treatments, but again, I think it''s wiser to stick with medication for now, because it's been proven to work for the past fifty years, given studies to back it up. For alternative therapies, there is not enough research to back up if these therapies work long term.

Quacks prey on us Anxiety Disorder sufferers as part of the Mental Health community, since we can be desperate for healing. Don't be victimized, instead be EDUCATED about QUACKERY!!!!! http://www.quackwatch.com/

I've been taking antidepressants almost continuously since February 1987, i.e. just under 26 years. They haven't melted my brain yet. Many of them also reduce the incidence of heart attacks and ischemic strokes by slightly 'thinning' the blood, and there is some evidence that they may protect against Alzheimer's disease.

NOTE: I'm not a doctor, and particularly not yours, so there may be factors I'm unaware of. Therefore all advice is of a general nature and you should consult your doctor before following any of it, especially before changing med doses.

Every time I read about antidepressants it says they can cause heart disease

The older tricyclics and the SSRIs Celexa (citalopram) and Lexapro (escitalopram( may affect the electrical system of the heart at high doses which can cause problems if there is existing heart disease. I have been taking well above the absolute maximum recommended doses of tricyclic antidepressants for nearly 26 years. For 18 of those years I've been on the most potentially cardio toxic tricyclic of them all, dosulepin (Prothiaden). My heart is fine despite that and being under greater strain since I had my left lung removed about 8 years ago (the lungs act as shock absorbers for the heart).

NOTE: I'm not a doctor, and particularly not yours, so there may be factors I'm unaware of. Therefore all advice is of a general nature and you should consult your doctor before following any of it, especially before changing med doses.

I've been taking antidepressants almost continuously since February 1987, i.e. just under 26 years. They haven't melted my brain yet. Many of them also reduce the incidence of heart attacks and ischemic strokes by slightly 'thinning' the blood, and there is some evidence that they may protect against Alzheimer's disease.

Ian

So you have been on the same med for just under 26 years? Are you afraid of poop out? I've been on Paxil for 16 years straight and have started getting poop out on it. I've decided to try very slowly to taper off it while I'm somewhat stable on it before it totally poops out on me and I go through major withdraw from it. That would basically be going cold turkey.On the times that I went through a poop out, It was hell.. My doctor said if I didn't get better she was going to put me on a mood stabilizer, which she really didn't want to do because it can cause alot of weight gain and I'm already over weight but thank god, I did finally stabilize. I think it was do to going with a different manufacturer of paxil. Which I know it was but, What happens when that poops out on me and go to yet another manufacturer and hope it works the same. It's probably going to take me a few years to slowly taper paxil from my system but that's ok, I don't want to go through major withdraw.

No, not the same one. I changed to my current one (dosulepin) about 20 years ago because I was told it was safer and produced fewer ongoing side-effects than the imipramine I was then taking. Turns out dosulepin is actually the most cardio-toxic antidepressant by a long way, but so far this hasn't been a problem even though my dose is well above the recommended maximum. At least the lower side-effects claim was true.

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Are you afraid of poop out?

The old tricyclics are much less likely to poop-out than the SSRIs. I'd be very surprised if that became a problem. It is much more likely I'll have to switch because of the cardio side-effects as I slide into old age. The SNRIs, except maybe Effexor (Venlafaxine) are also less likely to poop-out.

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I've been on Paxil for 16 years straight and have started getting poop out on it. I've decided to try very slowly to taper off it while I'm somewhat stable on it before it totally poops out on me and I go through major withdraw from it. That would basically be going cold turkey.

Are you sure it's poop-out? If you're under more than usual stress ATM, you may only need a dose adjustment. Small adjunct doses of Buspar (buspirone) will often restore the effectiveness of failing SSRIs too.

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I think it was do to going with a different manufacturer of paxil

Do you mean a generic? If so, try taking the branded Paxil. It might work well for you. In theory the generics should be as effective as the brand, but some may not be.

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It's probably going to take me a few years to slowly taper paxil from my system but that's ok, I don't want to go through major withdraw.

Or you could simply switch overnight to another SSRI. Celexa (citalopram) and Lexapro (escitalopram) have a proven record of working when other SSRIs has pooped-out. They are also less likely than Paxil to produce weight gain. They contain the same active drug, but I'd go with Celexa because it has a wider dose range which provides more options.

OTOH, if you want to quit SSRIs, then rather than taking years to get off Paxil try switching to Prozac (fluoxetine) and weaning off that. You should be able to do so within 2-3 months with minimal trauma.

NOTE: I'm not a doctor, and particularly not yours, so there may be factors I'm unaware of. Therefore all advice is of a general nature and you should consult your doctor before following any of it, especially before changing med doses.

No, not the same one. I changed to my current one (dosulepin) about 20 years ago because I was told it was safer and produced fewer ongoing side-effects than the imipramine I was then taking. Turns out dosulepin is actually the most cardio-toxic antidepressant by a long way, but so far this hasn't been a problem even though my dose is well above the recommended maximum. At least the lower side-effects claim was true.

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Are you afraid of poop out?

The old tricyclics are much less likely to poop-out than the SSRIs. I'd be very surprised if that became a problem. It is much more likely I'll have to switch because of the cardio side-effects as I slide into old age. The SNRIs, except maybe Effexor (Venlafaxine) are also less likely to poop-out.

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I've been on Paxil for 16 years straight and have started getting poop out on it. I've decided to try very slowly to taper off it while I'm somewhat stable on it before it totally poops out on me and I go through major withdraw from it. That would basically be going cold turkey.

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Are you sure it's poop-out? If you're under more than usual stress ATM, you may only need a dose adjustment. Small adjunct doses of Buspar (buspirone) will often restore the effectiveness of failing SSRIs too.

Oh yeah, I'm sure it was a poop out.. I was not under any type of stress and it came out of no where.. It was terrible! Was sick with W/D symptoms for like 3 months. One after another anxiety/panic attacks, crying for no reason, a general feeling of sickness/not feeling well, couldn't eat, couldn't go anywhere.. I ended up going to the hospital because I couldn't get it under control and I had no Klonopin or Xanax at the time to help.. I was seriously thinking of committing myself just to get it under control. So, yeah, I'm sure it was a poop out. It took a long time but I did get stable again.I actually did try the Buspar during that time and it made the attacks worse so I stopped taking it.

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I think it was do to going with a different manufacturer of paxil

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Do you mean a generic? If so, try taking the branded Paxil. It might work well for you. In theory the generics should be as effective as the brand, but some may not be.

Yes, I mean generic.. I can't afford the brand name Paxil otherwise I would try that.

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It's probably going to take me a few years to slowly taper paxil from my system but that's ok, I don't want to go through major withdraw.

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Or you could simply switch overnight to another SSRI. Celexa (citalopram) and Lexapro (escitalopram) have a proven record of working when other SSRIs has pooped-out. They are also less likely than Paxil to produce weight gain. They contain the same active drug, but I'd go with Celexa because it has a wider dose range which provides more options.

OTOH, if you want to quit SSRIs, then rather than taking years to get off Paxil try switching to Prozac (fluoxetine) and weaning off that. You should be able to do so within 2-3 months with minimal trauma.

Oh, I don't know about that, One time years ago, I wanted to get on a different med and my doctor said I can just stop my Paxil and start taking , I think it was Effexor, Can't remember but I did try that and within a week, OMG, I was getting bad W/D so I went back on Paxil and never tried stopping it again. I don't dare to just switch over to a different med like that, Maybe when I get down on MG on my Paxil I will but not right now. My body is so use to Paxil for the past 16 years that I think I need to tapper down my med very slowly, Otherwise I'm going to wish I did.Ian

Oh, I don't know about that, One time years ago, I wanted to get on a different med and my doctor said I can just stop my Paxil and start taking , I think it was Effexor, Can't remember but I did try that and within a week, OMG, I was getting bad W/D so I went back on Paxil and never tried stopping it again.

Changing to another SSRI should continue the process so there should be no withdrawal, though there may be a couple of days of, usually mild, discomfort. Maybe the doses weren't equivalent, plus, while Effexor acts as an SSRI at the doses typically prescribed for anxiety, it isn't and a straight switch is inadvisable.

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My body is so use to Paxil for the past 16 years that I think I need to tapper down my med very slowly, Otherwise I'm going to wish I did.

Your body isn't used to the Paxil, but what Paxil does. As another SSRI will do the same thing there shouldn't be a problem. It would be much more comfortable than tapering off Paxil.

NOTE: I'm not a doctor, and particularly not yours, so there may be factors I'm unaware of. Therefore all advice is of a general nature and you should consult your doctor before following any of it, especially before changing med doses.